Creative Writing Piece - Non-Roleplay - Virtual Masks

 Virtual Masks

Upstairs. Another one, destroyed.

The glow of the screen illuminates their smile. The harsh blue glare sinks into the corners of their mouth and hollows out their face. Their eyes are hidden by ghastly shadows.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Another one down. Even quicker this time. Snappy words, a well strung sentence, an insult carved out in text. Their smile grows wider so teeth show this time. They hunch over the keyboard. They don't need to plan. With each comment they bombard the net with barrage of ignorance.

They can say anything and someone will get upset. That was the idea. The point.

I hate cats, I love dogs, I hate dogs, I love cats, You're fat, you're too skinny, your argument is invalid, you’re pathetic., I never read it but I think… I never saw it but I know… I hate you. Hate. Hate. Hate.

It was harmless, wasn't it?

Except, here was this one girl that they had hounded for weeks. They liked everything of hers and sent her smiles. Then, they tore her down. Messages, photos,statuses, everything. They found her password and stuck fake nonsense on her wall, how she liked to do unspeakable things and fancied old men; on family photos and baby pictures. None of it was true, it was funny how everyone thought maybe it was. Why else would all these comments appear?  Everyone could see. Everyone in the world. They gave out her phone and laughed when she cried online for them to stop calling. The world was calling to shout. Once they spilled her blood, they say back and all they had to do was watch. They wrote a blog, rating her, debating her. That was Liked over a thousand times. Others did their job for them.The girl went quite. She was in the news. Tragedy. Guilt. Anger.

They wriggle in the darkness at the memory of the headline. That wasn’t their fault. No need to take it so seriously. It’s just the internet.

Their pajamas are their armor. The keyboard a sword. They stab, stab, stab them all with words. It’s hilarious. It’s powerful. They feel invincible.

“GET DOWN HERE, NOW.”

They stop. They switch off. They cry. They know what’s down there. They know what will happen. They don't want to go. It hurts to go. They look at the screen as it shuts down.

But they will be back and soon, soon they will be powerful again.

Inspirational Places for Table Tops - Bruges

Inspirational Places for Table Top Games

Bruges 

The Bells! The Beellllls!

Recently I went a wandering on a much needed holiday to Bruges in Belgium. Whilst I was ambling my way with my camera around this beautiful place, I realized just how much inspiration there was for games. There is something about the quaint, adorable city with centuries of rich history. Whilst you have beautiful buildings surrounding you with stone bridges arching gracefully over meandering canals... you also have the four horsemen of the apocalypse sculpted in bronze hidden between old buildings and you have a torture museum lurking beneath the streets and centuries of history. If you strip away the tourism and the people, the beautiful city of Bruges would make an excellent roleplay setting. You might want to go down the route of actually setting your game in Bruges, or you may go down the road I prefer which is to draw on the influences and craft something new. 

Horseman of the Apocalypse. Have a waffle, a coffee, and remember sweet Armageddon.

Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with middle age architecture and culture. Bruges  deserves to be protected not only for its historical richness but for its beauty. It became a hub for trade, specifically cloths, in the 13th century, however, the cities history branches back even further with buildings present from the 11th century. Part of the reason for its unique mix of different centuries is that during the world wars it remained fairly untouched. 

The buildings in Bruges offer an excellent foundation for ideas to spring from. The central belfry towers over the rest of the city and causes you to feel humbled. The tower was built in the 13th century, and then later burned down in a fire, to then be rebuilt. An entire one shot could be set around how your characters caused the fire of Bruges in 1280.  

Bruges Belfy is both eerily Gothic during the night and a brilliant setting for a mystery, cleric's personal character story or a strange magical location for characters to visit.  Other buildings show the of history in Bruges such as the Basilica of Holy Blood, (which has a name worthy of a Table Top game in itself) which was originally built in the 12th century said to house the Relic of the Blood, (again, what a name!).  You could set a Call of Cthulhu one shot, where the horrors of the world are shut behind the doors of the Basilica, or tailor your own Lamentations of the Flame Princess Game based on the idea of a holy relic, of the blood of a saint, being held within a cult-lead church. You could take the buildings appearance and create a strange town for your dungeons and dragons campaign. The ideas are endless and the history of the buildings in Bruges gives you a lot of cannon fodder for an adventure. Other notable places are  Sint-Janshospitaal, an 800 year old hospital building, over 21 different religious buildings (20 Catholic and 1 Protestant), and Bruges Markt.

Basilica of Holy Blood

Not only are the buildings a great source of inspiration for places and scene settings, the artwork around Bruges gives you a great deal of ideas to work with. The city boasts a wide selection of artwork both modern and old. Recently the Salvador Dali exhibit in the Markt Belfry offered a brilliant array of images from a great artist which lead to some very bizarre ideas. I have a number of ideas for scenarios and magical items for Lamentations of the Flame Princess because of the dark and twisted style of his artwork. If it had not been for the art displays in Bruges, I would not have thought to have used his work for inspiration.

Salivdor Dali, Because who doesn't love cannibal horses? 

Not only is the art in the many museums an inspiration but even the doors in Bruges make you want to start describing locations to your players.

A wizard lives here. 

Overall, there are a number of reasons to use Bruges as a point of inspiration for a table top game. You could set your game anywhere from the 12th century to modern day and capitalize on the wealth of history to create an adventure. Your players could investigate a murder in the central Markt which leads them to a dark secret labyrinth beneath the city, accessed only by infiltrating the mysteriously closed off Belfry. You could have a great deal of horrendous monsters crawl out from the canals as a result of a special artifact being hidden within the city archives. The only way to destroy it is to burn it all down. You could take the architecture and art, the doors and the places and use the images to create your own fairy-tale town rather than use the actual city of Bruges or draw on the history to build a unique campaign that is not set in Bruges but in your own world.

The possibilities are endless.

A Waffly Poem - Alice

 Alice

“Well, Well, Well”, thrice the cat chimed,

you stumbled down that tunnel, blind,

Upon sliding down the muddy path,

you contemplate the aftermath,

There is no way to scramble back,

you must trek on into the black,

you thought a magic mystic land,

would greet you when you hit the sand,

That is the folly of the weak,

who in their wonder often seek,

the hidden worlds of fantasy,

and end up lost to insanity,

“Do not fear”, laughed the cat,

who on a twisting branch, he sat,

“There are ways on through the dark,

but every way will leave a mark”,

You seem confused by its meaning,

suddenly on a sign you’re leaning,

Pointing up, right, left and round,

even pointing at the ground,

The cat is gone now from the tree,

A frozen smile is all you see,

You stare in wonder at the sign,

And take the path you think less time,

In the pitch you fall and scramble,

Surrounded by mean branch and bramble,

shivering in the cold night air,

with dirt on face and leaves in hair,

You struggle on and fight the dangers,

Meeting all the strangest strangers,

from talking hares to singing flowers,

and cruel queens with cosmic powers,

Until you fall upon a door,

floating just above the floor,

The cat smiles and gestures with his tail,

To the door of wood and nail,

“Off you go back to your home,

Where you will be all alone,

or stay with us and our madness,

escaping from your crushing sadness,

Whatever choice young one you take,

It will be the last you ever make,

Live here in all this ecstasy,

or go back to your sanity.”